Attributes affecting production and productivity in opencast mines: a review

Mining has multi-directional impact on economy. After the super economic cycle from 2002 to 2010, the industry is trying to regain the lost ground by adopting productivity measures. For a sustainable economic and social growth, mining productivity can be enhanced by eliminating the production and productivity barriers. Organisations have to explore these factors and take adequate measures to counter the barriers. The attributes which are having impact on production and productivity are derived from the previous research studies carried out in various mining-based countries by this study keeping the opencast mines as the major criteria. Researches carried out from 1974 to 2016 are considered in this study. The findings are segregated in to six categories and named as operational issues, environmental and geological issues, resources and infrastructural issues, technological issues, human resource issues and government and other issues.